What has happened to boxing?

It was recently announced that an exhibition event between Floyd Mayweather and YouTube fame seeker Logan Paul will take place on February 20th.

That is not Boxing, it’s a spectacle.

Boxing is no longer the sport of highly trained athletes that possess finesse and determination and talent. When Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, Jr. fought each other a couple weeks ago in their exhibition, it was a harkening back to a time when boxers were real athletes first and celebrities second. And to their credit, Tyson and Jones actually fought each other, granted with specific rules tailored to fit their *ahem* ages, and it was deemed a draw. But as part of the card, Jake Paul, Logan’s younger brother, fought Nate Robinson and knocked him out after two rounds, then gloated he wanted to fight Conor McGregor. That’s not boxing, that’s a joke for money.

Boxing can be a tough sell, being that it’s often considered a barbaric and violent sport. Many say that the business of boxing has killed it. Corruption at every turn. That’s probably true and certainly hasn’t helped.

But I think the real reason is a lack of true stars. Stars like George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson. There’s talent out there but no charismatic, dominating, “face of the sport” stars. No one that people want to pay lots of money to see fight. That’s why we end up with Mayweather and Logan Paul.

Boxing is still popular around the world, but not for any American boxer. And with spectacles like Mayweather and Logan Paul, that won’t help the status of boxing in the US.

We need a true, captivating star to come along and grab the imagination of the public again. But the good news is, we can always look forward to another fight of two old guys, this time Holyfield/Tyson. Evander says it looks like it’s going to happen.

I wonder if he’s inclined to wear ear muffs this time.

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